Philosophy

“The story gives meaning to what would otherwise be an unbearable sequence of sheer happenings.”  – Isaak Dinesen

People are inherently fascinating. The fact that we exist at all is essentially miraculous. But we go through our days completely bound up in the story of our own lives, focusing so closely on the next word, sentence or paragraph that we can all too easily lose sight of the plot as a whole.

For me, photography is about trying to read the story of the moment as carefully as possible and capturing at least a hint of it on film. It’s about understanding through observing, always aware of how easily the story can be misread. It’s bearing witness to the suffering of others or honoring the simple joys of their daily lives. It’s shooting with vintage equipment, available light, and an openness to the myriad ways in which the universe can arrange itself if only we’re of a mind to see it. A still frame necessarily only shows one phrase from a story of many words, but it’s often the simplest of ideas that carry the most weight.